PAVILION TOWNSHIP -- Two familiar contenders with deep roots in the area will be running against each other again in the Aug. 5 Republican primary race for Pavilion Township supervisor.

Incumbent Pat White, 69, who has been the township's supervisor for 27 years and a township resident for 35 years, is being challenged by Carl Randles, 50, who grew up in Pavilion Township and has lived on a family farm in the area off and on since 1957.

No Democrat has filed to run for the office, so the winner of the primary will win the four-year supervisor position.

White and Randles ran against each other for the supervisor role in the 2004 primary election, which White won.

When asked what their top priorities are, both candidates agree that managing growth to preserve farmland is a priority.

"We like the farmland. We have some nice big farms out here, and we hope to keep them here," White said. "In order to do that, we have to try to hold the development down so the farmers can keep farming.

"We need some development," however, he said. "We're trying to have managed growth in the township and keep it a rural community."

Randles said managing growth "is probably our No. 1 priority."

"That is what the election is all about, is controlling the development in the rural areas," Randles said. "We've seen a hodge-podge of construction over the past 20 years -- a little subdivision here, a little subdivision there dotting the landscape. I think in order to control and manage our rural areas in the future, we're going to have to manage that development a little better."

Randles said he also would provide a financial policy to maintain township service goals on a smaller budget.

White said it is important for the township to stay within budget while keeping a financial reserve without increasing taxes. He said the township needs to keep a well-equipped fire department and provide residents and businesses with a good road program.

White said he has achieved numerous accomplishments in the township during his 27 years as supervisor.

"I'm very impressed with the people out here, and I think we've done a good job serving them and want to continue moving the township forward," said White, who has been in the insurance business for 48 years.

White said Pavilion Township has been able to balance growth and the preservation of an agricultural environment, and also offer necessary services as well as some new additions at a small cost.

"We don't have any debt other than the small amount that we owe on one firetruck. We added a large addition onto the township hall that is all paid for," White said.

He noted that the Pavilion Township Board of Trustees has not had to seek any tax increases under his leadership. "We don't have any other debt, and that's the way we wish to keep it," he said.

Randles, who grew up on a family farm that has been in the area for 57 years, moved away for a period of time to pursue higher-education opportunities, then moved back in 1990 to run the farm.

Randles said it took a great deal of consideration to decide to run again and said some of the same reasons that prompted him to run in 2004 remain at the top of his list for running again now.

"The current supervisor, Mr. White, in a lot of ways, he's been a good township supervisor," Randles said. But after 27 years, "a person tends to get pretty set in their ways. So I think we really need a new changing of the guard."

But White said his experience and knowledge of the area help him maintain stability in the township as well as confront any new challenges.

"I think experience is important, and I'm willing to change as I go along," White said. "Just because I've been in office a long time doesn't mean that I'm set in my ways.
"The community needs a vibrant leader, and I am that," he said.

Randles said his past experiences working in the private sector give him the knowledge to confront issues that could affect Pavilion Township residents in a rapidly changing world.

"Never before have we seen property values dropping for such a continued and large margin of decrease in values," Randles said. "It's going to take some creative thinking and some creative leadership to deal with these types of issues and still provide the same government services that people have come to expect and really require."